'Everyone who's anyone knows that if you can battle chronic illness there's nothing you can't take on.'
In a heartfelt post on Instagram yesterday, Girls showrunner and actress Lena Dunham finally opened up about being rushed to the hospital after the Met Gala.
Dressed in a hospital gown and with her maroon Elizabeth Kennedy gown draped over furniture in the background, she revealed that the issue was related to her fifth surgery last month which she had previously said left her ‘endometriosis-free’.
She addressed her fans in the post, saying, ‘Thank you for all the love & concern that’s been pouring in since Tuesday. Although I’m much healthier than I was a year ago, complications arose from my most recent endometriosis surgery.’
Lena also used the post to raise awareness about America’s current healthcare system and the pressure on its reproductive and LGBTQ clinics, which have been the targets of Republicans seeking to defund the programmes.
‘When the healthcare of so many American women, especially our trans sisters, is at-risk - or already nonexistent - I am lucky to be in the position to seek help when I’m in pain. To those in that privileged spot- never forget that we are blessed and can pay it forward by supporting Planned Parenthood and LGBTQ clinics like Callen-Lorde with our ? and ⌚️,’ she said.
Endometriosis, which causes uterine lining to grow in abnormal areas of the body and can cause infertility, affects one in ten women in the UK and 10% of women worldwide according to Endometriosis UK. Lena Dunham’s endometriosis has never been a secret, as the actress has used her platform to spread awareness about the issue multiple times. In November 2015, she first penned a beautiful essay for her newsletter Lenny Letter where she talked about living with the disease and how it affected her life as well as her work on Girls.
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Rallying around fellow chronic illness sufferers and particularly former Fox anchor Diana Falzone, she said, ‘I also want to remind all the women suffering from chronic illness that we aren’t weak - quite the opposite, actually. We do our jobs with skill even when we’re struggling. We care [about] families even when we can hardly care for ourselves. We serve major face on a red carpet when we feel like lying face down would be more appropriate.’
We wish Lena all the best and a speedy recovery.
